Our first trip to Italy in September and my husband and I have been invited to stay for a week with each of my two Italian cousins. One lives in Verona and one in Bologna. I have no idea what to bring as gifts!!! I live in CA. One Aunt is 86, another is 70, 2 sets of husbands and wives in their 50's and then 20ish boy, two teenage girls and one girl 10. Please give me some guidance!
Posted by
fargo
43 posts
Sharon, I had the same situation when we travelled to Germany years ago. In today's day esp. with internet access, your cousins can pretty much get anything they want, so it's more the thought in my opinion. I don't know your budget.
I have lived in New England the the Midwest so I brought wonderful maple syrup (first tap - golden color if you can find it - or any good kind) esp. in a pretty bottle or tin can shaped like a log cabin. You can make pancakes and then leave the recipe with them. I think that would pass customs okay. I also gave calendars to each family. Some were of our local state, others picturing the National Parks of the USA. When we visited San Diego last year, I went to the Torrey Pines Park and bought some handmade baskets woven with the unique pines (only found in two parts of the world a medium basket with handle was about $25. I live in the midwest and enjoy visiting museums and gift stores with Native American products - like quilling, beading, etc. I have purchased barrettes and other items like that which are unique. Something made with turqoise and sterling silver from the southwest part of the US (a little pair of earrings or bracelets or bookmarks) might be nice. Unique cookbooks from your California area are a special gift for the couples if they speak English. Sometimes perfume and makeup is a lot less in the states. If you hint, you might be able to get what the teenage girls like at a good price if you don't get the jewelry mentioned above. For the 10 yr. old, I'd get a puzzle of the USA or something with a western theme that is nice and classy, not cheesy nor violent. I have known many people from Europe on sabatical and they enjoyed getting things for their children with a western theme when they stayed in the USA. Hope this helped a little:)
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
For the grandkids, take them T-shirts with as much English on them as possible. The more off-beat the T-shirt text, the better. Seriously. Something along the lines of a local Vallejo company logo with lots of English. Get four completely different shirts, one for each, not four of the same. No McDonalds. No Coke. No major US brands. Something like a local bar or bowling alley. Young Italians are obsessed with English words on clothing. Go figure.